


An Empty Garden

by Gal



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Flowers, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Soulmates, Theo Raeken Needs a Hug, soulmark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 15:18:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17347589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gal/pseuds/Gal
Summary: It was almost as if he could feel the blooms on his neck slowly fade away.





	An Empty Garden

Theo received his first flowers a week after he was born.

Several stocks of white heather had sprung up on the back of his head, all the way down to his neck. Tara’s small, child hands had held him close and secure, her flowers a declaration:

( _I’ll always protect you_ ).

It did not go unnoticed that those were the only flowers that graced his newborn skin.

His mother was indifferent

His father had fumed

And the nurses, they whispered, distraught by what they heard

( _Not only is he small but he’s gotta be sick too?)._

 ____

He was kept at a distance, but it wasn’t long before he gave flowers of his own. He gave his first blooms to the person who first gave him his

( _She adored him, and he, her_ ).

His tiny fist uncurled from her hair and reached up to tap lightly against her chin as she fed him the bottle that his mother refused to use

( _If his crying is bothering you so much, you take care of him_ ).

A small spattering of Chrysanthemums now ran along her jawline

( _Because to him, she hung the moon_ ).

 

___

Theo had always been so jealous of Scott and Stiles. Both were covered in flowers.

Blooms ran up and down their arms and their backs, showcasing the love and affection their friends and families had for them

( _Stiles had one small scarred pink carnation that sat on his right cheek that no one is allowed to talk about_ ).

( _And Scott had a fading butterfly weed on his shoulder that he claims isn’t worth mentioning)._

And each shared a yellow rose in the palm of their hand

( _You’re my best friend. I need you. You’re my brother_ ).

But it wasn’t one that they shared with him.

___

They did not give him flowers when they came to “help”

 _(They gave him opportunity, they said_ )

( _Power_ ).

No, instead they took them away.

And he couldn’t.

He couldn’t listen to her plead.

He couldn’t listen to her scream.

He couldn’t watch as she slowly died, but he knew.

His only flowers.

It was almost as if he could feel the blooms on his neck slowly fade away.

( _Yeah, he gained power, but he lost so much more)_.

 

___

He came back.

Only the light set of scarred flowers on his nape that no one dared to question

( _No, instead they pitied)_.

They underestimated him.

Thought him as tragic

( _But can you pity a monster?_ ).

___

 

Until he caressed her face, he thought he could have cared for Tracey.

And maybe her for him.

But his fingertips had petunias, and her face had freckling dark aconites contrasting on her pale skin. 

Her eyes were lidded and her breath caught

( _His claws sunk in_ ).

___

He left the world the same way he had entered.

( _His skin blank and everyone indifferent to his cries_ ).

___

 

And then he was back.

He was back.

And Liam and Hayden were here.

And his sister was gone.

He could breathe.

But just barely

( _Because flowers on the nape of his neck burned as if that piece of him were still in hell_ ).

 

____

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. He wasn’t supposed to get attached to him

( _T_ _he boy with too many blooms to count_ ).

At first, he thought it was because he didn’t want to be sent back

( _You need me out of this cell!_ ).

And then he thought it was because he owed him

( _I’ll be running in the other direction!)._

But then he came to the staggering realization that it was because he cared

( _Being the bait_ ).

___

His first set of flowers he received upon returning to earth were unexpected

( _And undeserved_ ).

He chocked the tingling sensation running through his forearm up to an injury healing.

He had no time to waste. Mason was human

( _And Mason could be dying_ ).

And he couldn’t take his pain.

He couldn’t take his pain no matter how hard he tried.

And the moment he removed his hand, dark crimson roses took up residence between the lavender and the honey suckle on Mason’s forearm

( _Grief and sorrow—but is it because he cannot take his pain or because he could possibly lose him_ )

( _And he can't do that to Liam)_.

Mason looks into his stricken eyes and down at Theo’s own arm, catching sight of the large hydrangea he left moments earlier

( _But are they hydrangeas of gratitude or heartlessness?_ ).

And he huffs out a weak sigh and no matter how hard Theo tries, he has to look him in the eye

( _You can’t take pain if you don’t care_ ).

And it hurts more than anything has in a long time.

___

He avoided the touch of Liam’s skin as much as humanly possible

( _Super humanly possible?),_

Going through leaps and bounds to avoid any kind of physical contact

( _Not just because he was scared of what he would leave, but because he was scared Liam’s touch would leave him blank_ ).

And most would consider that ridiculous

( _Becauase indifference just feels that much worse_ ).

____

When he pulled him into the elevator, he only hugged him from behind, head away from his, hands clutched in his shirt.

When he stopped him from killing Gabe, he grabbed him by his sleeved arm.

He avoided punches to the face

( _Both his and Liam’s_ )

And danced around Liam in circles any time the two would begin to fight.

But then Nolan happened

( _Fucking. Nolan.)_

There in the zoo, as they tried to get the hunters to fall into their trap, he reached out to slash at him

( _You ripped my t-shirt!)_.

And he looked up at the sky, feigning annoyance, trying to blame the way his eyes were misting on the pain

( _Yeah? And you broke my nose. Twice. It healed… and then you broke it again… two times!)_

And when he felt that third punch hit, he hoped

( _Begged_ )

For something to be left behind

( _Three times!_ ),

But the tingling in his nose was just the bones resetting.

And he shouldn’t have thought that nothing could be worse than Liam leaving his skin blank

( _Because when he saw the five lines of red tulips painted across Liam’s torso as he changed into one of Theo’s shirts in the truck, it felt as if Tara removed his heart all over again)_.

____

If Liam noticed them, he didn’t say

( _Not that he had time to do so if he did_ ).

So, Theo suffered quietly, waiting for the moment where everything came to a head.

And it came sooner than he thought

( _What are you doing here??)._

Liam’s hands are shaking and his eyes searching

( _There’s no way he doesn’t know_ ).

He’s changed shirts again since then

( _There’s no way he hasn’t seen_ ).

And he lets out a shaky breath, trying to sound as casual as possible

( _I was just asking myself the same thing)_.

But the look in Liam’s eyes was anything but casual

( _I’m not dying for you_ ).

And he was wondering why he even bothered when Liam reached for his hand,

Looking down as he gave it a soft squeeze, releasing it just as fast as he grasped it, needing to watch as the flowers bloomed just for him

And Theo couldn’t help the audible gasp that escaped him

( _Forget-me-nots—but are they for remembrance or?_ ).

And he couldn’t speak. His throat closed and all the air in his lungs had left him

( _I’m not dying for you either_ ).

And when he heard Liam’s heart skip a beat

( _But I will fight with you),_

 His did, too.

                                                                                                      

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't great, but it's based off a prompt I saw on Tumblr like three years ago. I haven't written in like ten years, and normally my stories have more dialogue, but I thought I would try something different. It is extremely rushed, and I'm sure there are errors besides the purposeful misuse and/or lack of punctuation and grammar. I put a flower key below (all my flower meanings could be wrong because I used several different sources).
> 
> White heather has to do with protection.
> 
> Chrysanthemums are loyalty and devoted love.
> 
> A pink carnation is for motherly love.
> 
> A butterfly weed means 'leave me!' which was for his dad.
> 
> Yellow roses are for friendship and happiness.
> 
> Petunias are resentment and anger.
> 
> Aconite is hatred and be cautious.
> 
> Dark crimson roses are grief and sorrow.
> 
> Lavender can mean devotion.
> 
> Honeysuckle is devoted affection from a lover.
> 
> Hydrangeas are for gratitude, but their negative side is heartlessness.
> 
> Red tulips are passionate love, undying love, etc.
> 
> Forget-me-nots are remembrance or true love.


End file.
